


The Dead Man's Guide to Parenting

by Eagefrien, swiftishere



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Figure It Out it says, Gen, Ghost Lewis (Mystery Skulls Animated), lewis wants revenge. the universe has other ideas, namely: children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-24 21:06:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30078318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eagefrien/pseuds/Eagefrien, https://archiveofourown.org/users/swiftishere/pseuds/swiftishere
Summary: Lewis is animated by a burning desire for revenge, so strong it keeps him alive, that it lends himfireas a potent weapon. His eternal mission is vengeance on the one who killed him.And then he ends up looking after two kids, somehow. That sort of puts a damper on things.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	The Dead Man's Guide to Parenting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Eagefrien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eagefrien/gifts).



> here's an au me and @eagefrien have been kicking around

Anger was what kept Lewis alive now. Or, not _alive_ – he no longer lived – but the need for revenge was what drove every beat of his anchor. Every decision he made was based on poetic justice, on finally catching his killer and exterminating him like the rat he was. 

Yes. He was the perfect hunter, with no need for sleep or food. Simply a– what was that noise? 

He paused in his pacing around the entry hall, tilting his head to listen better. It sounded sort of like a tree tapping against one of the first-story windows, only… there weren’t any trees close enough to do that. 

He followed the sound to the back of the house, to the garden that was enclosed in the U-shaped building. Along the way he picked up a couple of curious deadbeats, who swirled around his shoulders as he investigated. 

There was a deer outside, its antlers knocking softly against the window as it nibbled on his plants. Plants which were entirely conjurations, but the deer hadn’t appeared to notice that yet. 

“Hey!” He rapped his knuckles on the window, startling it into rearing back. “Leave those alone! They’re no good for you anyway!” 

It took off, nimbly leaping the wrought-iron fence and vanishing into the forest. With it gone, he could see several more deer of varying size dotted around the garden. All of them had gone alert at their companion’s sudden flight, and were now staring at the window, eyes shining in the light. 

He sighed and moved to the door, waving a hand and sending a few sparks out. “Go on! Shoo! Go find some real food!” 

Whether it was the noise or the sparks or the hissing deadbeats or just the fact that he was easily bigger than all of them, they all took off as well, the ones closest turning and running first, followed eventually by the ones further back. He sighed, putting his hands on his hips, and then had an odd moment of confusion where he started to think _ha, I must look like_ – and then his brain scratched and flipped over the thought before it could get finished. 

He was distracted from _that_ by the sound of something breathing, shaky and almost whined. 

Slowly, carefully, trying to shove away the _very irrational fear I’m an unstoppable force with nothing to be afraid of thank you_ – he floated over to where the noise was coming from. 

It was… a small child. Curled up in the dirt, half hidden behind a bunch of thorny plants, panting and staring up at him with wide, frightened eyes. 

One of the deadbeats reared back to hiss again, and he put a hand over it. “Scary faces are for _emergencies_ ,” he reminded it sternly. 

Turning his attention back to the child, he knelt slowly down to see them better. A small boy, with dirt smeared on his face that almost obscured his splash of freckles, tears wiping small streaks half-clean. As Lewis got closer, he flinched back, breath hitching with a whimper, and for the first time he regretted his intimidating skeletal appearance. 

The sight of the tiny child, looking exhausted and hungry, pinged some buried memory in Lewis’s chest. He reached a hand out without really thinking, keeping his voice soft. “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. It’s alright. Where are your parents?” 

He just made a small sound, tears welling, and then started to cry in earnest. Whether from fear or just the question, he wasn’t sure. 

“Sh-hh, it’s okay. I…” what was he supposed to do? The part of his mind concerned with revenge snapped that he didn’t have time for this, that he wasn’t supposed to care about _anyone_ – but another part _refused_ to just _leave the child here_ , in the dirt and the cold with nobody else around. “You’re fine, you’re safe- Can I pick you up?” 

The child sniffed, wiping his face, and stared at him for a moment before nodding. 

This time he didn’t flinch when he moved closer. Lewis easily scooped him up and held him in one arm, fitting him against his side. Immediately he burrowed closer into the warmth. 

Another pang of… what? This felt… familiar, and yet not at the same time, in a way he couldn’t quite place. 

* * *

“Can’t you just make some up?” 

“It doesn’t work like that.” Much as he might have wished it did. “I can make a lot of things, but you can’t eat fire.” He reached out and brushed back his hair. “I won’t be gone long. I’ll be back before the sun goes down, I _promise_. And the deadbeats will keep you company until then, okay?” 

He didn’t want to leave the child so soon, but he was a human and he needed food. He’d been doing well anyway. He’d told him his name, Mosley, and that he had nowhere else to go – though _why_ exactly that was, he didn’t say, and Lewis didn’t ask. He also explained that the deer that had been hanging out in the garden on the night he found him weren’t a coincidence – they followed him around everywhere. Which was odd, but not inherently a problem, as long as they didn’t go hungry eating fake plants. They seemed to have figured out by now that the garden wasn’t a good grazing spot, anyway. 

Reluctantly, Mosley nodded. With a sigh, Lewis pulled him closer and bonked their foreheads together. “If you take a nap, I’ll be home before you wake up.” 

“Okay…” 

The “shopping trip” was mostly uneventful, though Lewis couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being followed the whole walk home. 

The mansion was quiet when he entered. He was oddly disappointed, for a moment, that no small bundle launched itself into his chest when the door opened. Instead, a deadbeat showed up and shushed him with much severity. He dropped the groceries in the kitchen and followed it. 

The sight he found warmed his heart. It seemed Mosley had taken his suggestion and gone to sleep to wait, and a few deadbeats were snuggled up to him, keeping him warm and cozy. Unwilling to disturb them, he still knelt down and briefly carded his fingers through Mosley’s hair. 

The gentle touch woke him up, and he blinked sleepily up at Lewis, looking more content and relaxed than he had the entire time he’d been here. A smile flickered across his face. “Mm… y’did come back…” 

“Of course I did,” he murmured. “I’m gonna go put the food away now, okay? You go back to sleep.” 

“‘kay…” he waved and then snuggled back down into the blanket nest he’d made. 

With a little spectral help, putting the groceries away took almost no time at all. He wasn’t sure what he’d do next – he could start actually _making_ something, but he had a feeling Mosley wasn’t going to be ready to get up for a while. He floated aimlessly from room to room, thinking it over. 

In the living room, he stopped, some new sense pinging. Something felt… _off_. 

Slowly, he turned around, observing everything. It all looked in place, except… there- something was resting on the couch that he was _fairly_ sure wasn’t there before, colors clashing with the rest of the room. 

It was a tiny plush snake, he realized as he floated over and picked it up to examine. With a short body and oversized head, slight dark marks on the tail, and something was definitely _odd_ about it… 

He didn’t get much farther than that before something small crashed into him, covering his face and momentarily blinding him. He dropped the snake and stumbled back a few steps, struggling, before he finally managed to grab the assailant and pull them off him. 

It was… a ghost. A very _small_ ghost, maybe a little taller than Mosley was. She was wearing a black dress that seemed to be on fire around the edges, and had long hair made of fire that twisted and turned in places, whirling up into… _snakes_. She had flaming snakes for hair. 

She continued shouting and trying to attack him, but it didn’t go very well because Lewis had her arms firmly pinned to her sides. 

“Where did you come from?” 

“Leggo!” 

“Are you going to attack me again?" 

She just screamed in response. He sighed and set her down, and instead of jumping for his neck again, she just scrambled backwards, pausing only momentarily to scoop up the stuffed snake and tuck it under her arm protectively. She retreated to the couch in a wary half-crouch. 

He knelt down closer to her level, arms on his knees. “What are you doing here?” 

She just stared. Or, _glared_ was probably more appropriate. 

“You don’t have to leave, but I’d like to know where you came from.” 

No response. 

This _should_ have been testing his patience, but… he actually wasn’t that annoyed by it. Mostly concerned about there being a ghost _this_ young around. It wasn’t hard to imagine a lot of different reasons for it, and none of them were pleasant. He sighed and stood up. “Right, stay here if you want. But there _is_ someone else in this house, and if you hurt them, I _will_ be angry.” Against his will, his hair flickered a little on the end of the sentence. 

Her eyes went impossibly wider, but she was still silent. 

* * *

The little ghost hung around, though she tried to stay hidden and Lewis pretended she was doing well at it. She was interested enough to follow him around the house, peeking around corners or climbing on the tops of furniture. 

One evening she came up to him while he was sitting on the couch, and then stood there, waiting to be noticed. 

He feigned surprise. “Oh! You’re still here?” 

She puffed up her chest, lifting her chin a little. “Yeah! I’ve been here the whole time, hiding. And watching you.” 

“You _have?”_

“I-“ her shoulders lowered and her face fell to the floor. She hugged her snake doll a little tighter. “I’m… sorry I attacked you.” 

“Oh.” He sat forward a little, facing her. She seemed genuinely sorry, which was a stark change from how she’d been acting before. ”That’s alright, you didn’t hurt me.” 

“Yeah. I, um.” She fidgeted a little, hair lowering from the wild mane it had been before into something more subdued. “I thought you were… gonna be angry at me for being here. But… you’re not. Um. You seem… nice.” 

“Oh.” Her hiding and watching makes sense to him now – she didn’t know if he was safe. 

“So!” She picked her head back up, fire coming into her voice again. “Since I like you! You _have_ to let me stay!” 

A curious deadbeat floated up to her, and her hair hissed at it. It hissed back without any malice, not really seeming to understand the message. 

“I… have to?” 

“Yeah! Or- or else! I’ll, uh, you’ll regret it!” 

He sighed dramatically, putting one hand on his cheek. “I guess I really have no choice… fine, you can stay here.” 

“That’s right!” 

He unfolded his legs and stood up. “But my earlier warning still stands. I don’t want you shouting or starting fires around Mosley.” 

“You can’t tell me what to do! But, uh, yeah.” She lowered her hand from its fist. “I wouldn’t. He doesn’t- I mean, I… I don’t care about him!” 

_He doesn’t scare me,_ Lewis mentally finishes her sentence. “Right. So, where would you like to stay?” 

“I, uh, somewhere…” she trailed off, apparently not having thought that far ahead. “A… a bedroom?” 

“I think I can manage that.” He started towards a hallway, and she followed. As they walked, he asked another question. “What should I call you?” 

“Oh, uh. My… m’name’s Wren.” 

“Well, Wren, we’re happy to have you as a guest.” 

* * *

Wren continued to be very shouty, although she kept her promise and did her best to stay quiet around Mosley. He seemed happy to have a new friend, even if she was a little intimidating at first. 

The both of them settled in nicely. Mosley still refused to sleep entirely alone, having to have a gaggle of deadbeats or preferably Lewis himself there. Wren pretended to be above sleeping and laughed at Lewis for going along with it, although he did occasionally feel another tiny body wiggle into the bed at his back, late at night when she thought nobody would be awake to notice. 

Between the two of them, he really didn’t have much time to think of revenge. 

A small part of him felt guilty about that. His whole _purpose_ was to find his murderer and get vengeance, he didn’t have _time_ to be looking after stray children – but that impulse was quickly smothered by the louder part of him that vehemently said _if they don’t have anyone else you need to look after them_. 

Revenge would have to wait, he decided. Until… until he figured out some alternate place for these two. Yes. This was temporary. That’s all. 

Never mind that he wasn’t doing very much to _find_ that alternate place, and that he kept making changes to his death trap to make it more comfortable for the two of them. That was irrelevant. It was all reversible. He was still a _hunter_ , after all. 


End file.
